Ice Queen
by ThatOneChick'98
Summary: "The resources you are stealing are limited to us, Lexa, but other resources aren't. You may have gotten an army back from the Mountain Men, but for every soldier you have the Ice Nation has ten more. And don't think the Ark is going to help you. Even if they could fight a war do you think they would if they knew their Princess was now a Queen?"
1. Chapter 1

"The resources you are stealing are limited to us, Lexa, but other resources aren't. You may have gotten an army back from the Mountain Men, but for every soldier you have the Ice Nation has ten more. And don't think the Ark is going to help you. Even of they could fight a war so you think they would if they knew their Princess was now a Queen?"

"We will stay loyal to our allies."

"Yes, but will you stay loyal to your own?"

India's job was simple. She had been doing it for a while now. Pillaging Ice Nation villages was almost second nature to her now, and she took pleasure in doing it, although it did get boring at times.

Most of the Ice Nation's warriors were at the Ice City, leaving their smaller villages vulnerable to attack. Grounders had been doing it to survive the winters for years. Yes, they killed a couple people while the stealing happened. Yes, the village sometimes starved to death. Yes, that attack left the people open to diseases and infections.

But it was either the Ice Nation or the Grounders.

Indra turned around, opening her mouth to speak, but stopped short. The long haired brunette was no longer behind her, no longer her Second and Indra didn't need to teach her how to pillage.

She flicked two fingers in front of her and the warriors moved in, closer to the village.

Indra held up a hand when they were close enough and ordered a volley of flaming arrows to be sent onto the thatch roofs of the houses.

Flames caught, women and children ran out. Ice Nation warriors swarmed out, more than usual, but it was no matter. The Grounders were far more superior in battle tactics than the Ice Nation anyway.

The battler raged on, going worse than Indra had thought. It was then that she realized the Ice People were using Grounder tactics!

Indra sounded for a retreat before any resources could be stolen and they hauled their wounded away from the fight.

The Grounders were simply not prepared for the Ice People to put up that kind of fight.

"Is this bad?" one warrior asked as the trekked back towards Ton DC.

"No," Indra lied, "It most certainly is not."


	2. Chapter 2

"You came back with less warriors and less supplies than when you started. What happened?" Lexa asked, vexed that her strongest clan leader had neglected her job.

"The attack was a failure. There were more warriors there and...Heda, they knew our strategies, our tactics. The Ice People out maneuvered us."

"That's impossible," Lexa replied.

"Could it be possible they are watching us? Maybe an inside man?"

"Their fair skin make it impossible for them to fit in here and none of our people have been that far north." She thought for a little longer, "It's even more impossible for them to send lookouts, we would have caught them by now."

"Then how do they know what to do?"

Lexa looked long and hard at the clan leader, "What has your Second been doing since she left?"

"Octavia? No," Indra said, throwing up her hands, "Impossible. Her heart may be with the Sky People, but she would never tell our secrets. Plus, she didn't know everything. She knew singlehanded fighting, not battle planning."

Lexa seemed unimpressed with this logic so Indra continued, "She didn't even know about the Ice People. None of the Sky People knew."

"One of them did," Lexa said quietly, but Indra heard it, "Clarke? You think she would do this?"

"She marched into a mountain with only a gun. She would do anything for her people."

"What do we do?"

Lexa paced the room for a while before turning back to Indra, "It's about time we go see the Ark again."

AU Note: obviously these are going to get longer as they go along, this is just the set up chapters for it. Might have one more small one, but after that...the fun begins.


	3. Chapter 3

Clarke paced up and down the long hallway, her heels clacking on the white marble floor.

"Commander?" the maid said, leaving the room Clarke was pacing in front of, "She's asking for you."

Clarke entered the room she had spent so many long days in. The large, black doors swung closed behind her as she neared the bed.

The old, frail body laying in front of her could not have once been a queen, strong and powerful. She couldn't have won wars and led a country.

"Clarke..." the body said.

"Manna," Clarke clasped the women's hand and sat down on the bed beside her.

"You have done me and my country a great service, and for that I must thank you. The problem is, I will die by the end of today," Clarke opened her mouth to tell the queen that she wouldn't die, but closed it. She had told her People that if there was hope she would tell them, and if there wasn't she wouldn't. So she said nothing and let the body continue, "My country will have no one to take care of them. No heir, no way of holding an election...the job falls to me to claim an heir."

The doors swung open to reveal the queen's most trusted advisor.

"Manna," he said respectfully. Clarke had to wonder at the difference between the two young people in the room.

While Clarke called the queen 'Manna' affectionately, the advisor, like everyone else, just used it as a title. To everyone else it was like calling the queen 'Queen', but to Clarke the nickname was too close to 'Nanna' to say it only respectfully.

"Advisor, have you brought the proclamation?"

"Yes. Just the name of the heir is needed and your signature."

"Clarke?" the body asked.

Clarke turned back, "Manna?"

"Will you take care of my country?"

It sounded a lot like taking care of the Delinquents, but Clarke could not leave these people without a ruler, "I will."


	4. Chapter 4

"You want who?" the gaurd at the gate asked.

"Clarke." Lexa said, wondering how stupid this person could be, "Clarke Griffin. You know, blonde, intense? Ringing a bell?"

"Yes, I know who you mean, I just... I'll get you Bellamy."

"You'll get me CLARKE."

"Sure, Scary Grounder Lady. Wait here."

When the gate finally opened, it was not Clarke waiting on the other side.

"Clarke is a girl," she told the guard.

"He'll explain," the boy said as the Bellamy neared them.

"Thanks, Miller," he said, clapping the guard on the back, "Commander," Bellamy welcomed, "What brings you here?"

"I need to see Clarke."

"Well, I'm afraid you've wasted a journey then. She's gone."

"Gone?" Lexa's throat closed up, "What do you mean gone?"

"She left before the start of winter. We don't know where she is."

Lexa was quiet for a minute, "No one could survive this winter on their own."

Bellamy shifted, "If anyone could do it it's Clarke. I wouldn't worry too much about it."

Lexa nodded uncertainly. Maybe she should send out a search party? But that could wait for later.

"Then I'll talk to her second."

Bellamy raised his eyebrows, "Oh, yeah? Who would that be?"

"Bring me Raven."

"Raven?"

"She is the closest to Clarke's second, no?"

Bellamy sat there for a minute before, "I'll bring you to her."

Raven sat down heavily in her chair, "Sorry, what?"

"The Commander wants to act as Clarke's Second. So, you'll do that."

"She tortured me!"

"I don't care. Our people need this alliance. You will do everything in your power to keep it."

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"You want us to promise support incase you have to go to war?"

"Yes."

"Like you promised support to us when our people were in the Mountain?"

"No, when my people were in the Mountain I promised you support. While your people depend upon the Grounders, you will promise me support."

Raven sat for a second, trying to decide what Clarke would do, "You have our...loose promise of support."

"Loose?"

"Apparently you thought the alliance was loose when you made it with Clarke."

Lexa shifted, and Raven continued, "The loss of your army eventually led to hundreds of people dying and Clarke leaving and our people suffering, CLARKE'S people suffering, and now you want us to fight. You forget that CLARKE is the loyal one-"

"Obviously not to you if she left."

Raven soared out of her seat and toward Lexa. The door burst open and Bellamy's arms wrapped around the women's waist, her nail just barely brushing Lexa.

"That is not what Clarke would do!" Bellamy yelled and the girls stopped struggling to look at him, "Yes, she would!" Raven screeched.

"We're going to talk about this CALMLY. Without killing eachother."

"NOT LIKELY!"

Bellamy ignored her, "We are not going to mention Clarke."

"Why not, she's the elephant in the room?!"

"Enough, Raven!"

Raven knew that voice. She had heard it when Octavia did something stupid or when someone was going to step on a land mine. Raven had to wonder which one he was using it for this time. Looking at Lexa, it was probably both.

"Clarke's not here anymore. You'll get what you get, and, since you didn't hold up your end of the deal, you can't throw a fit."


	5. Chapter 5

"You can't be serious!" Octavia shouted.

"Hush!" Bellamy reprimanded, "Someone will hear you."

"Bellamy, Raven is not Clarke. She is a mechanic, not a politician!"

"Neither was Clarke!" (AU NOTE: OH THE IRONY, AM I RIGHT?)

"Raven is either going to lead us into a war and kill us all or lead us into a war that kills us all! Either way, we all die!"

"We'll be fine. She said a 'loose' promise."

"Bellamy...you can't have her manage Lexa, Raven will kill her."

Bellamy stayed silent, shifting his weight from foot to foot, "I don't have a choice, O. She took us by surprise and...Raven is the one that she saw most."

"She saw me the most, Bellamy. She just doesn't trust me. Make no mistake, she is using Raven to use us."

"Look, she's no Clarke, but-"

"No one will ever be Clarke and thank goodness for that."

Bellamy's hands slammed down on the table, "DAMN IT, OCTAVIA! IT WASNT HER FAULT!"

"It WAS her fault. She killed all of those people in Ton DC, in the Mountain, she made our people suffer, and then LEFT! She left you, she left Raven, she left Jasper, she left Abby, and she left me! She left EVERYONE, yet you still look at her as if she is a saint, as if she is some magical goddess that sprung out of the earth, as if she is the queen! She isn't! She WASN'T!"

"Stop."

"She left us all, and now Lexa is taking advantage of that fact."

"Lexa ASKED for Clarke. She didn't know she was gone! She sought out someone that would make a square deal, but then had to settle for someone else. Lexa asked for Raven to HONOR Clarke."

Octavia stepped closer to him, "Lexa didn't ask for someone who would make a square deal, she asked for her lover!"

Bellamy faltered, "WHAT?!"

"Oh, did Clarke not tell you? While you were in the Mountain, Clarke negotiated the alliance through kisses. Lexa didn't want a square deal, she wanted someone who would jump in to save her girlfriend's clan. And that's exactly what Clarke would have done."

Bellamy remained silent for a second, "Clarke's...bi?"

Octavia sighed, "Honestly, that's all you got out of that?"

Silence.

"You negotiate with Lexa. Raven doesn't know how to."

"You're forgetting one thing, O. I have never negotiated with anyone, Clarke always did that."

Octavia shifted as Bellamy echoed her very thoughts, "When Clarke left, she left us with the ability to be taken advantage of. We don't know what to do. We're dead. All of us."


	6. Chapter 6

The cell door opened and a man entered Clarke's small prison, "You said you had...medical training?"

"That's right."

"Like...a healer?"

"Yes, just backed by science."

The man looked at her strangely and Clarke had to remind herself that these people were even more primitive than the Grounders, "Yes, I'm a Healer."

"I am an advisor for Her Majesty, Manna. You will need to follow me."

"Don't I get a name?"

"No."

"What am I supposed to call you?" Clarke asked, following him out of the gloomy, underground prison.

"Nothing," he replied quickly.

"So. This is the legendary healer performing miracles in our prisons?"

"It seems so, ma'am," Bill (that's what Clarke had decided to call him, he was not pleased when she told him) said.

"Come here, child," the woman on the bed said to her, waving her hand slightly, "Let me take a look at you."

Clarke took a step closer, into the light, and the woman gasped, "No! This won't due! Get her cleaned up before she ever enters my presence.

And with that, Bill whisked her away.

It was her first meeting with Manna.

(AU Note: Now, the line breaks represent individual conversations between Manna and Clarke)

"Such sadness in your eyes, my dear. Come. Talk to me. What makes a girl like you so sad her eyes look like pools?"

"Nothing, Manna."

The frail woman smiled, "There is always something."

So, Clarke told her. She told her of a world outside of her self sufficient country, of the world not bound by the gravitational pool of the earth or by the poor technology the Ice People had.

She told Manna of her grievances, the people she left behind, the people she could not face.

"Good Lord, child," Manna's hand was soothing her hair as tears fell out of her eyes, "You have lived a great many lives and, I fear, will live many more. You must not lose hope while you are still strong."

"Yes, Manna."

"No! You did not!"

"I did! Just bopped him right on the head with a metal bar and he was down. Then, I hopped over the wall and left him there," Manna said, making a batting motion.

Clarke laughed.

"That was how I met him. Later on that night, when I had snuck back in, he came to me with the bar in his hand."

"Are you kidding me? What did he say?"

"He commended me on my excellent bludgeoning technique, those were his actual words."

Clarke laughed more, "And that was how you met? What happened next?"

"Well..."

"Manna! Scandalous!"

"Making love happens all the time, my dear."

"Not to a stranger!"

"I hit him over the head, you can hardly call that person a stranger!"

Clarke laughed again.

"Unfortunately," Manna said, deep in thought, "A warrior and a Princess could never marry, especially in that time...so, we went our separate ways after three amazing months. He later on died in combat, and I refused to marry anyone but him."

"Tell me again of the woman, the Commander."

"What about her, Manna?"

"Her people attack mine for food during the winter. Many of our outside villages lack security, because we need a lot of warriors here, and they attack. They still the food the villages need to survive and if a big ice storm comes, we can not help the villagers. Tell me, how do we stop it."

So, Clarke became a General, initiating a small draft to defend the out skirting towns and teaching them how to fight like a Grounder. For the first time in a long time, people got sleep during the winter."

"Manna, I've done everything I can."

"I know, my child."

"We could try my mother. We could bring you to her. She has equipment. It can't come here, but you could go there."

"We both know that I will not survive the trip. I will die soon."

"What are we going to do? What am I going to do?"

Manna clasped Clarke's hand in hers, "Fight. That is what you do. You fight."

"Princess Clarke?" Bill asked.

It had only been two hours since the title had been given to her, but...she had some practice.

She turned around in her chair, the proclamation still in her hand.

"Is she gone?" Clarke asked, tears already streaming down her face.

Manna had not wanted her to remember her pseudo-mother like this and had quickly asked her to leave after the proclamation was done and goodbyes said.

"Yes, she is," Bill's hand covered her shoulder, "I'm terribly sorry for your loss. If there's anything I can do to make it fatter, just send for me."

"Thank you."

"Bill?"

"Yes, Manna?"

Clarke had gone from one title to the next in a day, she wasn't sure if she liked it.

"Let's talk about this draft situation."

"Yes, ma'am."

"How many warriors do we outnumber the Grounders with?"

"Excuse me?"

"How many soldiers do we have and how many do the Grounders have?"

"We outnumber them two to one."

"Raise it. Every man and willing woman is to be trained as a warrior."

"Ma'am?"

"The Grounders are not getting food from us, which means they are starving. Starving people will do anything for food."

"Yes, Manna."

"If it means defending our own, we will go to war."


	7. Chapter 7

The crown was heavy on Clarke's head, even if she had gone with the simpler one. She had just barely managed to fit into Manna's-ExManna's- coronation dress, and the ceremony had taken place within a week of ExManna's death. She had technically been given the title the moment the life left her pseudo- mother's eyes, but in the ceremony she had been, truly, given the nation. No one could take it away from her now, and the nation rejoiced.

There was a party going on inside the castle, but Clarke-Manna- pushed through the doors and onto the large balcony anyway.

That was where Bill found her, "Nicodojimom," he said, looking out over the land that was now Clarke's.

"What?" Clarke asked, understandably confused.

"That's my name, Nicodojimom."

She stood there for a minute, dumbfounded, "I think Bill suits you better."

The adviser laughed, "Be that as it may, it probably won't do for the queen to call her advisor 'Bill'."

"Fine then," she said and looked back at the land, "We'll compromise. If I can't call you what suits you, I can call you 'Nico'. Nicodajnom is just to hard."

"Apparently," he smirked at her, "Fine then, Nico it is."

She smiled at him for a second, "And how old are you, Nico?"

"I'm twenty three."

She frowned at him.

"What?" he asked, studying her.

"I knew someone who is twenty three. You both seem older than you are."

"You seem MUCH older than eighteen yourself."

"Touché."

They sat in comfortable silence for a second, before Clarke said, "What did you want to tell me, besides your name?"

He stared at her, surprised.

"Come now, you walked out here far too purposefully for that to just be it."

"It can wait, I don't want to dampen your spirits on your coronation day."

She stared at him until he ceded, "Like you predicted, the Grounders, as you call them, attacked. The warriors were able to stop them before there were any major casualties or pillaging. We simply outnumbered them and were too skillful for them to get anything."

"Oh?" Clarke smirked, "And who said our warriors didn't need training or for a draft? Hmmm? I think your exact words to Manna were, 'This barbaric girl doesn't know what she's talking about. We don't need her!'. And now...?!"

"Okay, okay. Thank you, Manna."

Cal are looked at him steadily for a moment, "Clarke. Just Clarke."

"Manna is your title."

Clarke shook her head, "It wasn't supposed to be."

Nico looked at her, "Thank you, Clarke."

She smiled and he knew it was what she needed to hear.

"They just keep coming, but they're not getting anywhere," Nico told her, "They keep sending more people, but we just mow them all down. It's almost an unfair battle."

The doors to the throne room swept open violently, brining the harsh cold of winter through them. A young boy, a messenger, entered the room and Clarke stood up from her throne. The boy puffed out his chest, but he couldn't have been more than ten, still, he walked boldly towards his Manna.

"Young man," Clarke welcomed him, "What have you brought?"

"A...Grounder warrior gave this to my town leader. No one can read it."

But Clarke could, and she looked down at the declaration of war in her hands. "They've done it," Clarke told Nico.

"Those bastards, they'll lose and they know it."

"Language, Nico." The messenger was still standing there, shifting from foot to foot.

"You have done your country a great service, young man," Clarke waved to a maid, "Make sure he is fed and escorted home. Tell the leader of the town this boy is a hero."

The messenger smiled at her, skipping out of the room as Nico came towards her, "Clarke...what do we do?"

"...Nico, I think we should go visit an old friend of mine."


	8. Chapter 8

"No."

"Yes."

"No, I'm not getting on that horse, Clarke."

"I insist."

"No. You're riding to your doom."

"Nico...I command you, then."

Nico looked at her. He could not disobey his Manna's commands, especially with a half legion of warriors behind him, "Fine. But you are killing us both."

"Uh-huh," Clarke said, walking her horse toward the gates. She had worn her warmest, yet dressiet, riding clothes to go see Lexa. She needed to look like a queen, and she did, an efficient and practical one.

"It's not that far," Clarke told the advisor.

"Yeah, just two days. In the snow."

"Don't be a baby," she called over her shoulder as the legion started walking behind them.

"I'm not!"

This would be a very long two days.

Her eyes had long gone dry, her fingers numb, and her nose red, but as Clarke stood at the front gates of the Grounder village, she knew it was worth it to hear Lexa shout from the other side of the gate, "DON'T SHOOT!"

So, the Commander had seen her, had recognised her. Clarke desperately hoped she would see reason.

A gaurd looked at them from on top of the gate, "State your business!"

The gaurd was nervous. The legion was nervous. Nico was nervous. EVERYONE was nervous, but Clarke smiled up at them, "Simply to talk."

The gates opened and the legion poured through, creating a little chaos before the crowd realized they were only there to push the crowd away from their Manna.

A walkway was created, with legion warriors longing the sides, leading directly toward Lexa.

Clarke, smiling, walked down it gracefully, her skirts just barely skimming the ground beneath her. Nico followed her closely, one hand almost on her back, but not ON it.

"Lexa," she greeted.

"Clarke..." It was clear Lexa didn't know how to go about talking to her, so Clarke, still smiling, circled her.

Lexa stayed looking straight ahead, knowing the intimidation technique well. If she turned to face Clarke as she circled her, it would show that Lexa was afraid of her. If she let Clarke circle her, she risked looking like she was being cornered, but Lexa already had the feeling that she was cornered.

"Do you know why I'm here, Lexa?"

"You want to negotiate another treaty for the Sky People?"

"I want to threaten you for the Ice Nation."

"What business do you have with the Ice People?"

"I am their Manna," Clarke whispered threateningly in her ear. Lexa would NOT shiver at the coldness in Clarke's voice, the adoring pride that Clarke held in he title, her job. This was not the Clarke she left at the Mountain, this one was...scary, more mature, more intimidating, more...Lexaish.

The Commander didn't like this at all.

"We received a declaration of war from you a while ago. We're here to...make you reconsider," now Clarke was smirking, "You see, Lexa. In the winter, food is scarce. My people, the Ice People, spend all the other seasons building up just enough food to survive winter, but then you people come and steal it. This won't do."

Clarke stood in front of Lexa and stepped towards her until they were a few inches apart, "The resources you are stealing are limited to us, Lexa, but other resources aren't. You may have gotten an army back from the Mountain Men, but for every soldier you have the Ice Nation has ten more. And don't think the Ark is going to help you. Even of they could fight a war so you think they would if they knew their Princess was now a Queen?"

It was a bold statement, but both women knew it was true. The question was: Would Clarke make good on her threats?

With that question lingering in the air between them, a larks turned on her heel, her braid smacking Lexa in the face, and left.

When they were far enough away from the village, Nico turned toward Clarke, "Are we going to see the Sky People now?"

"No."

"We...aren't going to threaten them?"

"No."

"Why?"

"The Sky People depend on the Grounders for almost everything. They would feel the need to stay with the alliance. If they knew they were fighting me...it would be bad."

"How bad?"

"Tear the Ark in two. Pit them against each other. Lead to a civil war. That kind of bad."

"Sounds good for us."

Clarke pivoted in her seat, "Nico. Read my lips: we are not pitting my childhood nation against each other. It will destroy them. All of them."

Nico stared at her, for the first time feeling the love she held for the Sky People, "You would rather suffer fighting them, then tear them apart."

"Yes."


	9. Chapter 9

Of course, she knew it was coming, but Raven had hoped Lexa wouldn't come back.

Now, the Commander was there in front of her and the mechanic felt excruciatingly outmatched, "It is time for you to either make good on your promise or not. My people are going to war, and you can either follow us and keep the alliance or try to fend for yourself without it. Those are your only options."

(Lexa made sure not to mention that Clarke would gladly send the Sky People help. She was not stupid.)

Raven stared at he evenly, "We'll send you a couple gunners. That is it."

"That's not enough," Lexa said, shaking her head.

Raven took a step closer to the Commander, "It's more than we had in the Mountain."

Lexa had to marvel at the similarities between Clarke and Raven. Of course, she had always noticed them, it was one of the reasons Lexa had asked for Raven and not Bellamy. With Clarke's guidance, Raven would have been able to take her place when the blonde left. Alas, Clarke left too early, and Raven was simply unequipped, well, as unequipped as Raven Reyes could be.

That was another reason Lexa had asked for the woman in front of her. Raven was resourceful and she held the strong determination to lead and protect that her predecessor had.

Perhaps, Lexa had done it for Clarke. She thought that Clarke saw Raven needed to be pushed towards leadership and the blonde-the Manna- would be happy to know that Raven had taken on that role. Clarke's role.

Whatever the reason, Lexa was now regretting asking for Raven now. The woman was too smart, but, then again, Octavia wouldn't have been much better.

Now that Lexa thought about it, she was glad she had asked for Raven. You always knew what side both Raven and Octavia were on-whichever one you weren't on-but Octavia was more stubborn. Yes. Raven was the right choice, just a hard one.

"This is not the Mountain, and there is no lever we can pull to kill the Ice Nation."

"The Ice Nation?"

"Yes. For a long time they have been a thorn in the Grounders' sides, but now their new ruler-their Manna- has taken away supplies that my people rely on and has spit in my face. It is a call for war."

"One that you can't fight alone?" Raven asked, taking another step closer. Now the two women were face to face, and many people passing the gates had noticed and gathered. Out of her peripheral vision, Raven could see Bellamy with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. So she was doing this intimidation thing right? Good.

Wick stood beside Bellamy, smiling his goofy, crooked grin at her, flooding her with a huge warmth and courage.

She took a step closer to Lexa so that their chests were practically touching, "Why are you so scared of the Ice Nation? They haven't been a problem before now or else we would have known about them before. What's different now?"

Raven studied the Commander for a second as the woman's eyes got faraway. SHE FUCKING KNEW THAT LOOK! But...now wasn't the time.

Now, she had to intimidate the Commander.

"The new ruler?"

Lexa's eyes flashed, but her face remained passive. On the side, Octavia shifted. So she had seen it too. Interesting.

"Tell you what," Raven said, stepping back and crossing her arms over her chest. She started circling Lexa in thoughtful contemplation, "Come back in...two weeks time. I'll have your answer for you."

"I need it now!"

Raven quirked her head to the side, "Poor you, you don't get it now. You'll get it then or never."

Lexa looked to Bellamy, who shrugged, "You asked for Clarke's Second, not me."

And with that, Lexa stormed off.

Raven was just looking around her tent to see what she was missing. She had avoided both Wick and Bellamy after today's argument with Lexa. Maybe she should tell them, warn them? She didn't want to be like Clarke, but...no, she had to leave, and she knew they wouldn't let her and seeing Wick would make it impossible for her to leave.

Suddenly, the flap to her tent opened, revealing Octavia, "Are you coming with me or are you just going to stay here?"

Apparently the younger Blake had the same plan as Raven, not that it surprised her. They had looked at each other after the argument and it was clear that they had come to the same hypothesis, now it was time to test it.

"Yeah, I'm coming."


	10. Chapter 10

"This was a stupid idea," Octavia said, trekking through the snow.

"It was our only idea," Raven replied. She then sunk into a pile of snow and Octavia looked up, "Where'd you go?"

Raven pulled herself up and looked at her, "Watch your step."

"We should stop somewhere," Raven suggested, "Somewhere warm."

"And where would that be?" Octavia asked, gesturing around the forest, "There's no place dry, let alone warm."

"I'm cold and tired."

"Then you better preserve body heat and keep going," Octavia said.

"You're a slave driver."

"Just don't make me crack the whip."

"I'm utterly freezing."

"Y-yeah. It's pretty cold."

"Can we stop?"

"No, keep moving."

"Octavia, stop for a second."

They were going uphill through a foot of snow, and Raven's good leg didn't like it.

"We, can't. We'll freeze."

"Is it just me or is it getting colder?" Raven asked through chapped lips.

"It's definitely getting colder." Octavia agreed. They were trudging through knee high snow now, making it more difficult than ever to keep walking, specially for Raven, but they kept going.

"I just need to see," Octavia said, and Raven nodded.

"If she's here, we can bring her back or she can tell us what to do."

The two girls looked at each other, and laughed simultaneously in utter delirium, "We are the weirdest recovery party ever," Octavia exclaimed, echoing both the girls' thoughts, "We hate the girl we're going to get, following a hunch and hoping that it is right, and we don't even know if she'll come."

Raven stepped forward only to sink back. She stopped, breathing hard and looked at her, "We need her though. You've seen your brother."

Octavia nodded, remembering the skeleton she left behind that she called her brother. His face was gaunt, his voice tight and quiet. Under his eyes, dark bruises told stories of sleepless nights.

"We need them both, and taking over her job...I can't imagine doing that all the time. It's...Let's just say it makes me respect her."

Octavia nodded, wiping her nose on her sleeve, "I always did respect her, ever since she yelled at Bellamy on the drop ship the first day. I thought only I had the guts to scream at him, but here was this tiny blonde arguing with him. But then...Ton DC, and I found out she knew, but...she didn't do anything. I didn't like it."

"It's funny though," Raven said, "I would've thought you would be happy about it."

Octavia looked at her, astounded, and Raven continued, "Getting people out of Ton DC would have meant exposing that we had an inside man, and Bellamy, your brother, not anyone else's, would have been killed. She saved Bellamy."

"She should have figured out a way to do it without killing anyone."

"There was no way."

Octavia glared at her, suddenly angry, "You're the one to talk. Finn would have died either way, Clarke just let him die quickly and in the arms of someone he loved. There was no way NOT to kill Finn, so she took it upon herself to be merciful."

"Stop."

"No. She murdered him so that he didn't have to suffer. You're just mad that she killed him because now you can't look at your friend without seeing her as a murderer!"

"And the same goes to you! You think you're being so holy, fighting for those who died in the explosion, but you're really just hating her because it destroyed your hero worship of her!"

"I didn't worship her!"

"Yes, you did. When something was wrong, who did you go to? When your boyfriend disappeared, who did you ask to go find him? HER. HER AND BELLAMY! You WORSHIP them!"

"Of course I do!" Octavia finally shouted, "They're my family."

Silence rang through the snow filled forest as Octavia and Raven's tears froze on their face.

"Face it," Octavia said, "We're not going because our people need her, because Bellamy needs her. We're going because she is one of the only people we have left."

Raven collapsed in sobs, her strength finally going out. She was SOOO COLD. so tired. The snow felt so good, like a pillow

"We hate the only person we have left because she isn't perfect. We hate her for not being enough, for being human."

Octavia collapsed beside the brunette, "We hate her for being like us."

They both sobbed by each other's side before falling into a deadly sleep.

Before Octavia closed her eyes, she could have sworn she saw a shadow standing over her.


	11. Chapter 11

The plan would have worked, if Lexa had listened to it and come in two weeks, but she didn't. She came back the day after Octavia and Raben left.

Unfortunately, Bellamy and Wick were out looking for the girls and Miller had no choice but to take the Commander to the Chancellor, who had not been briefed about the situation.

"Abby, if the kids put off answering it was probably for a reason," Kane whispered in her ear.

"No!" Abby said turning towards him, "The Grounders are our allies. We will support them. The kids didn't even have jurisdiction to intercede on something like this, they have NO jurisdiction."

"Then they must have had a DAMN good reason to keep it from us."

"No," the Chancellor turned toward Lexa, "We will support you, Lexa. We will get you warriors. Of course, we can't jeopardize our camp, but we will send what we can."

With that promise, Lexa left, and Abby turned toward Kane, "Find Bellamy Blake and bring him to me."

Octavia woke up warm, a sharp contrast to what she had recently felt.

"Am I dead?" she asked herself, feeling the soft sheets under her, "I am most definitely dead."

She sat up and looked at the room around her. It was made of stone with big, black doors being the only way out, besides the chimney. Octavia could climb up the chimney with a burning fire in it. Octavia didn't want to climb up the chimney with a burning fire in it.

The bed was comfy, SOOO COMFY and she didn't want to get up, but, looking around, she didn't see the one thing she wanted more than warmth: Raven.

She slipped into the hallway, shrugging into a luxurious rove as she went, "Raven!" She whisper shouted down the hallway. Knowing they would probably keep the girls close to each other, she went to the next room over.

Luckily, Raven was laying in the bed there, and Octavia ran over, "Raven!" she squealed, nearing her friend.

Raven opened her eyes and looked around, "What the hell?"

"I think we did it," Octavia said, "I don't know why they would treat us like this if they didn't know us."

"So...this is Clarke's work?"

"Only one way to find out," and the girls were off, hiding from guards around corners as they made their way blindly through the large palace.

They were hiding from a guard on an outside walkway on the third floor when they heard it, the deep, gravelly voice that they had been waiting for forever to hear.

"CLARKE!" the girls looked at each other before running towards the sound like giddy little kids, but the person wasn't Clarke.

Well...she was, but she wasn't.

The Clarke they knew wore ripped up jeans, a tshirt, and a jacket, but this one, this Clarke, was in a long blue dress that floated down behind her with a lighter blue cape over it, and...HEELS. Like actual heels.

The girls were so stunned that they stood there for a second, taking it in.

The Clarke, that had been talking to a boy, stopped, head tilted a little. She knew they were there. So this WAS Clarke.

"Nico, will you do something for me?" she asked the man.

"Of course,"

"Could you run to the dining room and tell them we need two more places set up?"

"I'll go now."

Then, he was gone and she turned towards them, walking up to them like someone would a predator, "Hi."

It was so simple a sentence. One word that swept over the two Sky People, but her voice, her, Clarke. SHE WAS THERE!

"Hi," they said.


	12. Chapter 12

Raven watched Clarke's skirts sweep across the floor as the woman went to work. Octavia had long since disappeared, hating being inside, but Raven, even though she couldn't feel it, knew her leg couldn't take walking through the immense grounds.

"This is where you disappeared to?" she asked, needing something to do.

Clarke kept on with he work, but still answered her, "Kind of. Originally, I disappeared into the dungeon. Then, I...worked my way up, I guess. I got some promotions I didn't really deserve, but...then again, that's how I got the job with you all anyway. I just kind of took that one."

"And then it was thrown in my lap." Raven said, finishing what Clarke didn't think needed to be finished, so Raven explained, "After you left...people thought I would take your place."

Clarke looked down at her hands, "I...didn't realize that would happen."

"...I mean, it's not bad, just...difficult. Lexa came, calling me your second and then people started coming to me for things...they wanted help that only you could give. Help with...people, not machines, politics, not mechanics...it was weird...challenging."

"It wasn't what you were meant for," Clarke said, showing that she knew what Raven was trying to convey.

Raven blinked back tears, she'd be lying if she told anyone she didn't miss that about Clarke, the way she understood her kids without them saying anything.

"I didn't know what to do, and you weren't there to tell me."

Clarke bowed her head in shame, "I'm sorry. I just...needed to leave."

Raven nodded, "I know...Sometimes I wonder if you would have stayed if we didn't blame you. If you knew more people than Bellamy were there to support you...if I had just seen earlier that you needed me. Bellamy keeps telling people that we couldn't do anything to make you stay, to help you. He said you had to heal yourself, but we all know it was a lie. We knew that only Bellamy couldn't have done anything else, because he didn't blame you, we could have done much more, but we didn't. We saw what the blame did to you, but...we did it anyway, then after you left, we just blamed you more."

Clarke and Raven stood there for a second, looking at each other, before Raven continued, "It took Octavia and I yelling at each other in the middle of a forest for me to realize that you had been merciful to Finn. I kept blaming you for not finding another way, another way that kept him alive...but...me wishing that is the same as Octavia thinking you could have saved all those people."

"Raven..." Clarke said, but Raven shook her head, "Somewhere along the way...everyone forgot you were human, that you couldn't pull miracles out of thin air, but with you saving lives in medical bay and getting Lexa to agree with you so easily, when even Kane couldn't...we thought you were invincible. But you weren't. Were you? You did all of those things while you were broken. And no one noticed. No one cared. We just kept blaming you, breaking you...and we didn't care."

"But, it's okay now," Clarke said, and Raven shook her head again, "Is it really? Will you ever be able to look at us the same way? Will you ever be able to come back? Will you be able to leave the place that accepted you when you were broken, cared for you, put you back together, to help the ones that destroyed you?"

Clarke shifted, and Raven nodded, "I thought not."

Then she got up, and turned towards her friend, "I won't ask you to leave with us, but I will ask you to train us, or at least me."

"Why?"

"I need to be able to help people like you did. I need to take your place."

Clarke took a few steps forward, "Raven... They need you to be you, the mechanic. They can't live without you doing that job."

"But they can't live without you," Raven insisted, "I guess I'll do both jobs."

Clarke shifted again, "I can't leave my nation."

"I know, but you can still help your people."

Clarke nodded, "Okay, I'll train you."


	13. Chapter 13

Ice Queen Ch 13

Bellamy looked through the hairs of his sight and getting ready to pull the trigger, "This is an act of war," he said.

"You are my ally," Lexa said beside him.

"No, I'm not. Clarke was the one that dealt with you, not me. She's your ally, not me."

"Oh, that's rich," Lexa said and Bellamy looked at her. And he thought Clarke was difficult and cryptic.

"What? Did you and Clarke have a falling out?"

Lexa looked at him for a second, and he studied her, "What? It wasn't that hard to figure out that Clarke had feelings for more than boys. I did lead a bunch of teenagers with her by my side, I know her a lot better than people give me credit for."

"We fell out when I left you all to die," Lexa said, choosing to leave out the part where Clarke marched into her camp and threatened to obliterate her people.

"Well, yeah. That'll do it."

Then, Bellamy lined his shot back up and took a deep breath, Lexa could tell that he needed a push so she leaned back on her heels and appeared thoughtful, "Yes, but…I don't know. I always thought I could make it up for her. She was always one of those people who thought everyone deserved a second chance and she was…" Lexa laughed, hoping it sounded authentic, "Insanely loyal. Sometimes I thought, even after the fallout, that if I could just…call on her and she would drop everything and help. No one can really deserve her."

"You're right," Bellamy said nodding, "Especially you. After what you did to her…If you love her, stay away, because you left her and we had to kill three hundred people to save our own. She blamed herself for that, and if you hadn't made that deal with the Mountain Men she wouldn't have had to do that. She wouldn't have left if you hadn't."

"I had to save my people."

"Yes, like you're doing now, and putting her people in danger again."

"Both of us know she would help."

"Yes! Even though you didn't! She would have done it to teach you a lesson!"

Lexa was quiet. She had baited him, and she knew he would go into the trap.

"The only reason I'm doing this is so that you do learn that lesson. For Clarke."

And the shot finally rang out, killing the guard on the top of the tower and the Sky People ran down the hill and into a war that wasn't theirs.


	14. Chapter 14

Ice Queen Ch 14

"Smell this," Clarke said, sticking something under Raven's nose.

"It smells good, fruity, but a little sour," Raven said.

"It's poison."

"Okay, then."

"If it is something you don't recognize and it smells fruity _and_ sour, don't eat it."

"Smell this one," Clarke put down the poison vial and picked up another.

When the smell rolled through Raven's nose, a wave of nausea shook her stomach, "Ew, get that away from me. It smells awful."

Clarke looked at her strangely, "Raven…That was peppermint. It cures heart burn and skin ailments. Also indigestion," she put her hand on Raven's shoulder, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Nico stormed into the room with two guards behind her, "Seize her!"

The guards grabbed onto Raven and pushed her away from their Manna. Clarke, surprised, tried to pull the brunette back, but the guards had already gotten her a fair distance away, "What is the meaning of this, Nico?"

"Ma'am, we have just gotten intel that the Grounders have attacked one of our villages with guns. They have successfully taken the village and all the supplies there. The Grounders alone would never be able to do that. The Sky People have joined the fight."

Nico pointed at Raven, "She has been here to most likely gather intel for them and will report back to them that about us. She's a spy, along with the little girl that has been snooping all over our grounds."

"No," Raven cried, "Clarke! You know we wouldn't do that! We came _for you_ , to talk to you, to see you. We asked for two weeks before Lexa came back. It's only been ten days!"

"You've been in my company for seven days, listening in on all my conversations, I've trained you."

"None of that was so I could use it against you."

"I don't know that."

"Yes, YOU DO! YOU KNOW ME!" Raven was crying, pleading with her friend to see that Raven had not meant for any of this to happen, "Please. You know I would never harm you."

Nico looked at Clarke, seeing her break, "Clarke, it only took seven days for the Sky People to attack us after she came. These things take time. She probably knew they were going to attack before she came here."

"I know," the Manna said thoughfully. All was quiet for a minute, "Raven and Octavia will leave by the end of today with supplies and horses to make the journey. With the horses, it takes one solid day of riding to reach the Ark."

"Clarke." Raven shook her head, "I'm not ready. I still have a lot to learn. I can't fill your place."

Clarke looked down, "I've taught you what you desparately need to know. The other things…you'll have to learn yourself. I can't afford you any time. Here, you will be looked at as the enemy, and…if you are spies—"

"We aren't!"

"For God's sake, Raven!" Clarke finally blew up, "You all would be the perfect spies! You all were mad at me, yet you were already close to me! Lexa isn't stupid, she would know that just one apology to me would make me forgive, to protect you, and then you were in! It would make perfect sense."

"But we wouldn't do that!"

"You're leaving! In an hour. That's final. We'll escort you to the outside of the village and then you'll be on your own."

Clarke's eyes softened, and she stepped toward her friend, "I hate doing this, especially with your condition, but—"

"My condition?"

"I can't risk you staying here," Clarke said, ignoring her.

Octavia stood by her horse, shifting from foot to foot in front of Clarke, "What do we tell the others of you?"

"Nothing. Make up a story, but you did not come here and you didn't see me. If you do, you'll be seen as fratronizing with the enemy."

Octavia smiled through eyes full of tears, "You're still trying to take care of us, aren't you?"

Clarke smiled and nodded, "A little bit. Give your brother a hug for me, but don't tell him it's from me, okay?"

Octavia nodded and hugged her friend.

Clarke neared Raven next, handing her a pack full of stuff, "You'll know when to open it. It has everything you'll need, but…" Clarke handed her another bag and Raven opened it. A herby smell floated through her nostrils.

"What are these?"

Clarke smiled, "It wasn't that hard to figure out, at least for me, but you should take a spoonful of the herbs and mix it with a cup of water to make it into tea. You have to promise me you'll do that once a day. You may not know why for now, but you'll know soon."

Raven nodded, "Okay. I trust you."

"And I trust that you weren't spies."

"But you had to do it. I understand."

Clarke neared her, "Raven…You need to convince them to stop fighting for the Grounders. If you don't…you all are a big threat, but you are a compact one."

Raven's face paled, "You could easily send a group of troops and destroy us all."

"If you all keep fighting, I will have no choice."

"I understand," Raven said.

"Now, go, and for goodness' sake, be careful."

Then the two were off, but they had the uncomfortable feeling that when they met Clarke again, if ever, it would not be on such friendly terms.


	15. Chapter 15

Ice Queen Ch 14

To say that Octavia and Raven rode hard would be an understatement. Clarke told them it would take a day of riding to reach the Ark, but it took them about nineteen hours to get there. They shaved five hours off of their travel.

When Miller saw them from the gate, he called out immediately for the gate to be opened and rushed to meet them, "Where have you girls been?"

"Nowhere. Where's Bellamy?" Raven asked.

"Resting. He just got back from…" Miller trailed off.

"The Ice Nation?" Raven asked, hopping off the horse and looking steadily at Miller.

Bellamy's right hand man rubbed the back of his neck, "…After you left…Lexa came back and dealt with the Chancellor. Abby issued a draft and…"

"They risked Bellamy," Raven guessed.

"They risked a lot of us," Miller said.

Raven's jaw tightened, "Bellamy, now."

Miller ran off to go get Bellamy and Raven looked at Octavia, "She's…using us."

Octavia looked at her for a second.

Raven shook her head, "What happened to just being kids, not being warriors."

"We have good shooters, experience in war, and…" Octavia shook her head.

"What?" Raven said. Octavia shook her head again, " _What?_ "

"We're…disposable."

"…Clarke always said that every life mattered down here."

"Abby is not Clarke. We can't expect her to share the same opinion."

Bellamy appeared and wraped his sister into a hug, "Where the hell have you all been?"

Raven stepped forward, "We had somewhere to go."

"That's it? That's all I get?"

"That's all you need to know," Raven said, "But I need to know more. Why are our people fighting? I told everyone to wait."

"You obviously didn't tell Abby. When Lexa came back early the Chancellor immediately gave them our help."

"This isn't our war!" Raven said.

"I know that. I've told her that. I also told her that the Delinquents wouldn't fight."

"But we are?"

"The Chancellor extorted her power and made a draft. Our names were at the top."

"And you didn't fight?"

"I fought. Of course, I fought. The Chancellor wouln't hear it. I could have put a gun to her head and she wouldn't have listened to me."

Raven was quiet for a minute, and Bellamy shook his head, "Clarke did this stuff with Abby, not me."

"Okay. I'll fix it," Raven said, heading towards the Ark.

Bellamy grabbed onto her arm, pulling her back, "I don't expect you to do that."

Raven nodded, "But someone else does. I'll talk to Abby. See what I can do. I can't promise anything, but I'll try and make things better for us."

"You don't have to," Bellamy said, but Raven shook her head.

"I'll take care of it, but…if I'm not able to," Raven thought of what Clarke had taught her, "We need a plan B."

"I like Plan Bs," Bellamy said and Raven smiled. Of course he would. He did them all the time with Clarke.

But, by that time, people had gathered around them, wanting to know what had happened and Raven made up a story about her having to think about what they would do and Octavia had followed her to protect her. Bellamy didn't buy, but the rest of the Delinquents took it readily. They were happy that, unlike Clarke, Raven had disappeared for them and had returned. Raven wondered how much the two girls returning actually meant to the people. They had been left before, the stinging bite had been left in the air for a while after their last leader turned her back on them, and then they had another leader leave unexpectedly, and Raven had to wonder how much that had trampled the people's spirits. But then she came back. She had showed them, accidentally, that they were worth coming back for, that they were worth a leader getting their shit together and coming back. And Raven had. She had gotten her shit together.

The ghost of Finn was no longer on her back and she had gained wisdom, from where the Delinquents didn't know, but she had it.

Seeing that, shocked Raven, but she welcomed the hugs anyway, even from Jasper, who had been constantly sulking around the camp getting nothing done since the Mountain. When she saw Wick, standing there with arms wide open and a goofy smile on his face, Raven felt tears in the back of her eyes, but she would _not_ cry. She held that resolve until his arms were around him, and she buried her face in his chest so no one would see the tears come, "I'm so sorry I left."

"You're back now," was all he said before he was goofing around and making her laugh.

Raven looked over as a loud, happy shriek pierced the air, and saw Lincoln spinning Octavia around in his arms. They talked together rapidly, an unintelligible mess between the kisses they gave each other. After a while of laughing and kissing and talking, Lincoln got Octavia's things off of the horses before stopping cold in his tracks. He studied the horses and looked at Raven in confusion.

He knew.

Oh God, he knew where the horses came from and Raven knew she would have to make up another story. And _fast_.

"I got to go ask Octavia something," she told Wick, something awful churning in her stomach.

"Octavia had you for a week!" Wick protested lightly, before letting her go.

Raven pulled the Blake over to the side, and whispered, "To anyone that's not a leader of the Delinquents, we stick with the original story, but to the others…We wanted to see what we were getting into so we went to the outer edge of the Ice Nation and a family took us in because we were sick and that's where we got the horses."

"Okay."

"But, we didn't gain any information about the Ice Nation other than the people were really nice, got it? If we give them information…"

"They could use it against her. Got it."

"Okay. I'll talk to Abby," Raven said.

"I'll spread the cover stories."

When the two girls were about to part ways, Octavia grabbed Raven hand, giving her the satchel of herbs that Clarke had given Raven earlier that day. "What do you think these are?" Raven asked.

Octavia shrugged, "Maybe to help deal with stress? I don't know, but she wouldn't have given them to you if she wasn't a hundred percent sure you needed them."

Raven nodded and they parted ways.

"No. I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because you all are our best shooters and Lexa agreed that we needed you all, especially with your experience here on the Ground."

"Did you all happen to talk about how the reason we are such good shooters is because we had Grounders as target practice?"

Abby's jaw tightened, "That was a different time."

"Really? Because it seems to me you just got us into another war, one that we really can't support right now, where we shoot Grounders. Sure, a different kind of Grounder, but Grounders nonetheless."

Abby was getting mad, that Raven could see and the girl reached for something…Clarkeish to say, "Look…Those kids were just about to be drained for their blood a while ago, and now, with that still sharply engrained in their minds, you want to hand them guns? Abby…they'll sooner shoot each other than the Ice Nation."

"We need you all."

"If you need teenagers to fight in a war that they don't want to fight…you probably aren't prepared to fight the war."

"Are you saying you all are not capable to fight, to be warriors?"

"I remember a woman saying to her daughter that we weren't."

Abby stayed quiet as Raven threw Clarke in her face.

Raven sighed and got up to leave, "Look, these kids have fought two wars, been held captive, killed people, seen their friends die before their eyes, and even killed their loved ones themselves. These kids aren't warriors, they're veterans! Leave them be."

"I can't do that. Without you all, the army is cut in half and we wouldn't be able to help the Grounders."

Raven paused, "Then, their blood is on your hands, whether they kill themselves or not. If I remember correctly, you blamed your own daughter for killing innocents, what are you going to do when you are the one doing the killing?"

Then, she left and found Octavia sitting with the other leaders by a fire, "So, that went well." Raven said, sitting by Wick.

"Okay, so it's time to figure out Plan B."

"Yes, it is."

"Got any suggestions?"

Raven thought for a while as Octavia handed her a large pitcher of water. Raven put it on the iron tray above the fire to boil and played with the poker stick in her hand, "The Ice Nation…they're best bet would be to take out the largest threat, which is us, the people with guns and things that go boom. Unfortunately for us, and fortunately for them, we are in a compact, easy to attack place."  
"They'll hit us hard, and when they do…" Octavia trailed off.

Raven shook her head and finished Octavia's thoughts, "The guns and extra bullets won't help."

"So the question is," Bellamy interjected, "How do we stop it?"

Raven smirked and looked at Octavia, "We make the Ark so it's not a threat."


	16. Chapter 16

Ice Queen Ch. 16

"Manna?" Nico asked, coming into the room, "We have a situation."

I smiled at him, "It seems like every time we see each other we have a situation."

He smiled sadly at me, "It seems so, ma'am."

"What is it this time?"

"There is a large group of Arkers coming this way."

"Armed?"

"They have a wagon full of weapons, but only a few of the people have weapons on them."

Clarke sat there on her throne, thinking, and Nico neared her, "Clarke, I strongly urge you to make a preliminary strike. These people are coming straight towards us. If we let them get closer they will reach the Ice City in a couple of days."

Clarke studied his anxious face. If the force reached the city, they had access to, not only the palace, but very influential people, people that Clarke needed.

"You said there were only a few with guns on them?"

"Yes."

"That makes no sense. They're marching into enemy territory, where they could easily be attacked, but haven't armed themselves. They either want a massacre…or to not get attacked." Nico shifted and Clarke got up to stand in front of them, "Which means someone in that group knows that I'm here, and that I will not attack unless they are armed." Another shift, "Nico, is Raven and Octavia in that group?"

NIco looked down at his feet, "You cannot let them back in. They could easily gather information and send it back to the Ark. The risks of them coming back are too great."

"Answer the question."

Nico looked at her, "Yes, and I strongly advise you to attack now."

"Everyone wants to know where we're going," Bellamy said, walking beside Raven, "As do I."

"We'll be there in a couple of days," Raven replied.

Bellamy grabbed her hand, pulling her to a stop, "Raven. Please tell me we're not going in the direction I think we're going. Please tell me we are not going towards the Ice Nation."

"I can't tell you that."

"I trust you, but is there really a safe place in enemy territory."

Raven studied him for a second, and he shook his head, "Come on, Raven. We should go back and fight alongside our allies."

"But, by doing that, you will be fighting one of your own."

Bellamy released her arm in surprise, "Is that a threat?"

"No, Bellamy. It's just an observation."

"You would leave us for the Ice Nation?"

"That's not what I meant. Just…you'll see. All you have to do is trust me, and I will take care of us."

Bellamy stared at her for a second, "I trust you, but…"

Raven stared at him evenly, "Look, I know Clarke would have told you by now. I know that she would have let you help plan this, but…until we get there it's dangerous for you to know why I am confident that this place will be safe for the 100. I realize that you hate not being able to help, but, trust me, just by being here you are helping a ton."

And he was. The 100 were calm around him, and if Bellamy trusted Raven to get there somewhere safe so would they. The kids depended on Bellamy's leadership and were ready to follow him away from there home, away from their families, when he called them. The 100 had grabbed enough guns to cripple the Ark and had left before sunrise. Miraculously, no one had seen them and stop them and they had left to start the long trek toward the Ice Nation with only two of them knowing where they were going.

Octavia burst out of a bush, and walked towards them, Lincoln right behind her. They had been running ahead of the group, scouting the way, but were now back to debrief. Octavia studied the two leaders trying to gauge the situation in front of her, "The sun will set soon. We should set up camp here. Lincoln says a snow storm is about to come in, shouldn't be too bad, but it will definitely cover our tracks so no one can follow us. We should be okay if we hunker down tonight."

Bellamy nodded and went to tell the others, and Octavia came closer to Raven, "You were right. Lincoln spotted a scout running away. I didn't let Lincoln kill him and he was on horse back so…"

"She should know that we're coming by now."

Octavia nodded, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"She might handle this cautiously, but she would never fire on people who are unarmed, especially a group of her…on a group of teenagers," Raven said, looking around to see if anyone had heard her slip up. No one was listening.

Octavia nodded, "As long as you're sure."

Raven gave her friend a nervous look, "But that's the thing. I'm not."

Raven and Lincoln sat next to each other by the fire as Raven mixed her herbs into the heated water.

He smiled at her, "Does Bellamy know?"

Raven was startled and looked at him, "Know what?"

"About the baby. I'm assuming Wick already knows, since he's probably the father, but does Bellamy know his co-leader is pregnant?"

Raven laughed, "Where'd you get the idea that I was pregnant?"

"The herbs," Lincoln said, now they were both confused, " The herbs are what pregnant woman in my village use to give the baby the nutrience it needs to grow."

Raven sat there until Octavia came over, "Hey guys."

Raven sat up, knocking her water over and pulled Octavia to the side, "Your boyfriend just told me the herbs…she gave me were pregnancy herbs."

"Pregnancy herbs?" Octavia asked, her eyes widening.

Raven nodded and Octavia studied her for a second, "Well. I guess you have gotten a little bigger."

"Octavia, I am not pregnant," Raven insisted.

"Then, why are you freaking out?" Octavia asked. Raven had no answer, "What was in the bag…she gave you."

Raven blinked at her, "I haven't opened it."

The girls rushed over to Raven's tent and zipped it up quickly. They grabbed the bag and pulled at the knot keeping the bag together. It fell open and…

"Bottles, tiny clothes, toys!" Raven said before lowering her voice to a whisper, "Clarke thought I was pregnant."

"She did spend a lot of time with you, and she would know the symptoms and what to look for. She's so observant I don't think it would've taken her long to figure it out." Octavia picked up a piece of paper that had slipped to the ground, "Yeah." The Blake sister showed Raven the drawings on the paper, "She drew out what your baby would look like throughout the pregnancy. She even figured out how far along you were. 'Two weeks after you leave the Ice Nation your baby looks like this'."

Octavia looked at the opposite side, "On the back it says 'I know you probably didn't know you were pregnant when you came here, but you had all the symptoms. The herbs act like vitamins, taking care of your baby, and I didn't want to tell you and make you anxious during your ride home. Anxiety is bad for the baby, and I was not going to be the one to put it in danger. But by now, you have figured it out and are wondering what to do. I suggest telling Wick. Stay away from alcohol and if you have questions…well, you always were like a second daughter to my mother (too bad we both piss her off). Good luck and congratulations.'."

The girls sat in utter silence as Clarke's words washed over them. They sat on Raven's bed, looking at the baby outfits, most likely sewn by one of Clarke's personal maids under careful supervision.

"There was no question," Raven said, and Octavia nodded.

"She just knew. Then she did everything she could to take care of you. Like always."

They relapsed into silence until Raven sat up, "I, uh-I should go tell Wick."

Octavia nodded and silently left.

Octavia and Wick walked beside her the next day. Wick had taken it surprisingly well. After cracking some jokes, he had realized she was serious, then became overjoyed, picking her up bridal style and telling anyone who would listen about his 'perfect, genius, beautiful mechanic daughter, who will one day rule the world with her awesome inventions'. (He insisted it was a mini Raven.) (Raven insisted that the world would explode.)

By now, all of the 100 knew, and had become…spectacularly overprotective. They had already commanded her to not carry anything, even her own pack, and had placed an around-the-clock guard around her, which Octavia had found pointless.

"I mean, obviously, I don't need help protecting my future goddaughter."

Raven had rolled her eyes at the younger Blake's proclamation, "It's not a girl."

"…Whatever you say, Reyes."

The whole of them had been so enthralled at the new baby, 'the new delinqunet' 'the 101ist', 'the best mechanic known to man', that they hadn't seen the army until they entered the clearing.

They stopped.

There had to be a thousand soldiers, standing with spears and shields and bow and arrows and swords. In front of them was—

"Is that Nico?" Octavia asked.

Raven nodded and Octavia gave her a confused look, "He's an advisor. What is he doing here?"

The expecting mother watched the man come towards them on horse-back, "I think we're about to find out."


	17. Chapter 17

Ice Queen Ch. 17

Nico came halfway between the two parties, one ten times bigger than the other, and stopped. Raven, taking it as a sign, moved forward, but Bellamy stopped her.

"Maybe if we turn back now, they'll let us leave," he said.

Raven shook her head, "Just trust me. I expected this," (she really didn't. like, geez Clarke! A thousand warrior?) "I'll take care of it."

"You think I'm just going to let you go up to them? Raven, that's a suicide mission and you're carrying. There's no way I'm letting you do that."

Raven considered her options before looking back at the man on horseback. Nico was sitting there, waiting for her, and if she didn't come soon he would take it as a hostile sign and tell the army to open fire. Something Raven couldn't afford to let happen. "We come in peace!" she yelled across the breach, "We just want to talk to her!"

Nico seemed to breathe heavily, "So be it, but your promise means nothing now. Put all the guns in the wagon and send the horses to me."

Bellamy shifted beside her and Raven tried to calm herself. If they gave up their weapons, the army could attack and they would be defenseless, but if they didn't, Nico would never take her to go talk to Clarke, "Do it."

Surprised, Bellamy turned toward her, "What?! No, this has gone far enough! We turn back now."

Raven grabbed him by his shirt collar and tugged him towards her, "We do that and they will kill us all. And if they don't the Ark most certainly will. We give them our weapons and you trust me like you trusted Clarke. That is the only way we will survive."

Bellamy stared at her for a second and she could see the gears in his head turning, "Fine. Load up the weapons!"

Slowly but surely, the 100 gave up their weapons and Octavia pushed the horses toward Nico. Once they were to him, Nico pulled on the reins of the horses, pulling them and the wagon to a stop. He looked behind him and shouted something. Raven's heart clenched as the order, that was surely to kill them all, rang through the air, but to her utter amazement, the army shifted, splitting in half to make a walkway.

Bellamy and the others were so entranced by the breaking army that they didn't notice Octavia and Raven slip out and walk towards Nico.

As the army finally broke fully in two, Raven recognized why.

Clarke was practically glowing on her whte horse in her white cape. She looked nervous, hurt, but in front of her people she was strong.

When the 100 were finally able to see her…Raven had never seen them more relieved. Relieved for their leader, for them. They weren't going to die, they knew Clarke would never let the earmy attack, and…she was there. There. Right in front of them.

Raven felt them shift, getting ready to move towards their leader, their Clarke, but she raised a hand to stop them. Not now. They couldn't rush towards Clarke without the army thinking they were going to attack their Manna, and Raven wouldn't let that happen.

Clarke approached them, slowly, carefully, and Raven realized why. Clarke had left so that she didn't have to see the 100, see their blameful glares and their hatred towards her, the woman who gave up everything for them, but now, the 100 had sought her out, come to her. She didn't know how to handle this. Didn't want to handle this. But Raven had forced her to.

Raven and Octavia had broken their promise to Clarke, had broken her trust, and the girls both knew that they would pay dearly for it. They could see it in her eyes.

When Clarke looked at them, her eyes were hard, so very much unlike the open, loving gazes that she had given to them before they left, and their hearts sank.

Clarke had taken care of them.

They had betrayed her. Again.

Clarke stopped in front of them, slipping off her horse like she had been doing it all her life, and stepped in front of them on equal ground, "Why did you come back?"

Raven looked at her boots, "I know you didn't want this. That this will hurt you, but…they were using us. Putting us on the front lines like we were expendable. Everyone kept saying that you would never do that, and I thought, you know, that they were right. We would be killed if we didn't come here, so, we came to ask…if you would allow us sanctuary here."

"Manna," Nico said, "We can't allow them to come."

Clarke raised a hand to stop him, "Why should I allow you in? You betrayed us. I could have had you two killed on the spot, but I let you go home against my advisors wishes. Now, you come back with people who have hurt me, who could hurt me and my nation more. Why in the world would I allow you sanctuary behind my walls?"

"Because we took out the Ark." Clarke raised her head, interested, and Raven continued, "Not only did we split their army in half, but we also took most of their guns. The Ark isn't a problem for you anymore."

Clarke and Nico looked stunned, like they should.

Clarke breathed in through her nose, "You betrayed your own people."

"No," Octavia said, finally speaking up, "Bellamy was right. Those aren't our people. The Ark…we don't belong there. I don't think we ever have, to be honest. We found our people when we were sent down alone. We found each other. WE are our people, and you always taught us to keep ourselves alive."

Clarke was speechless, so Octavia, showing her true Blake colors, delivered the punch line to her speech, "You see, Clarke, we didn't betray our people. We just brought them back together."

Raven stepped forward too, "Please. We understand that this isn't what you wanted, but you complete our people, you give us purpose and safety and love, and I don't know how long we can go without that. You've given us everything, and we owe you our lives, but we need you to give a little more. Don't make us tear apart our people again. Don't make us leave. We need you, and we know that you don't need us, but we're here to ask you to WANT us."

Raven looked down at the ground and lowered her voice to a whisper, "We need you to want us because no one else does."

Clarke's hands were shaking, but she kept up a cool façade for those who couldn't hear what they were talking about. She sighed deeply, painfully, and Raven felt the words being dragged unwillingly out of her mouth, "I could never say no to you all."


	18. Chapter 18

Ice Queen Ch. 18

Monty couldn't take it much longer. Bellamy knew that for a fact. The boy was bouncing up and down and Bellamy would have sworn he hadn't blinked, scared that Clarke would disappear if he did. Bellamy was already convinced she was a delusion. He had eaten some bad food, drunk some dirty water, and now he was simply imagining her.

No way was Clarke in front of him, barely sixty yards away, in a white cape, looking like the princess he always knew she was.

THERE.

RIGHT THERE.

There was no way this was real, but as Raven waved them slowly forward, telling them to WALK MONTY, WALK, he knew that everything her believed was wrong.

Monty, unable to hide his excitement, started running when Clarke spread her arms out for a hug. He picked her up, twirling her around, and the man on the horse (had Octavia called him Nico?) raised his arms telling the soldiers that their…(what? What was Clarke to them?)something was okay, that the boy rushing towards her wasn't going to hurt her.

The others soon joined Monty, crowding around Clarke and hugging her as much as they could. Bellamy had to push people around to get to her, but…she was there.

A relieved, relaxed smile spread across his face and the uneasy one that Clarke had worn until then moved to mimmic his. She wrapped her arms around him, and his hands could hardly believe they were touching her and seemed to burn with excitement as they shook. He didn't know how long they stood there, just that he wouldn't let her go, and the only indication he had that she was talking was the rumbling in her chest and…god, her voice. He listened to it, but hardly took in the words. He just barely took in the words 'they'll stay with us, that's final' because her hair and her hands and her voice and her smell and her heart trying to reach him and the way she lightly tugged on his hair and god, he missed her so much and she was there there there there.

Clarke was in his arms, IN HIS ARMS, and he never wanted to let go.

But he had to when she let go of his hair and pushed on his shoulders so she could move away from him (NO, NOT AWAY FROM HIM. PLEASE. NOT AWAY FROM HIM.) Clarke continues to talk to the man as she got back on her horse. They were arguing, but Bellamy didn't care what about. Clarke would take care of it, and if she needed his help she would ask him.

Bellamy rode beside her the whole way, Raven and Octavia a couple steps behind the horse, and the others right behind them. None of them talked as they passed through the army, and the soldiers around them stood eerily still. Their eyes blazed beneath their helmets, most of them having lost friends and maybe even wives and children to the attacks that the 100 had been forced to lead. Bellamy hoped that within time, the men would see that the teenagers didn't have a choice, preferably before they attacked any of the kids.

Bellamy stayed by the horse (if he reached his hand out just a little, he could reach Clarke's leg or tug on her skirts). After a while, Clarke stopped arguing with the other man and turned to him, saying quietly, "I counted thirty."

Bellamy nodded his head slightly, "We lost some in battle."

She nodded, but seemed sad, "I wanted to tell my men not to harm you all, but…with the guns."

Bellamy nodded.

"So, I just told them to keep as far away from you all as possible and only shoot when need be."

"Lexa saw that. She started putting us in front of her armies."

Clarke's horse stopped and she looked at him for a secod, before starting up again, "I guess that makes sense. Youput the people the enemy is avoiding in fron and they are forced to deal with them first, but I wonder…"

"If she put us there just to hurt you? That's what I'm wondering now too."

"That would be a very emotional move if she did."

"But, then again, it could also be a head choice." Bellamy finished (a part in him sang with the pleasure of knowing they were falling back into old patterns).

"What do you think? Is Lexa trying to get back at me or win a war?"

"She continuously ignored me so I wouldn't know. The only time she ever talked to me was to tell me that you would want me to enter the war."

"She manipulated you?" bellamy nodded and Clarke looked forward. She was quiet for a minute before saying, "Her head would tell her to use you. We worked closely together and she would know you use the same strategies I use."

"Which means?"

Clarke smirked at him from on top of her horse, "It means Lexa is trying to use her heart to win this war, not her head."

"Why would she do that?"

"Because using her head is what got her in trouble with me in the first place. She's trying a different tactic now, and that will be her downfall."


	19. Chapter 19

Ice Queen Ch. 19

Clarke had been locked up in a room with a group of important looking men and women from the moment they arrived at the sparkling palace. ("Advisors," Raven had told him, "We just changed the whole war and they need to get a jump on it before Lexa does.") From there, the blonde had pulled Raven and Wick into a room and officially declared Raven pregnant. (Wick walked around with a shirt on that had the word 'dad' written on it in paint [Raven just rolled her eyes at him before proclaiming him a dork and going to bed]).

Then, it was just him and her alone in the large throne room – _her_ throne room (Octavia had explained that Clarke was literally royalty now, she was a queen, the Ice People's queen [not theirs, which made Bellamy grimace]) – and Clarke was standing in front of him, her hands on his cheeks. "A little grayish and thin, but not too bad. We'll get you fed and then you should be okay."

"Thanks, Doc."

Clarke smiled (God, he loved that smile!) and let go of him, "We've been talking about where to put you all. There's not much room for you here and we can't send you somewhere else. Nowhere else is safe."

Bellamy nodded, "Just get us through the rest of winter. Then…we'll leave you alone."

"Bellamy…You all can stay here for as long as you want—"

"I doubt that your people will let us stay anywhere near you or this place."

"Bellamy—"

"They're going to see us as a threat and you know it."

"I'll handle it."

"How? How will you fix the fact that we were forced to kill their loved ones, to shoot at them? You can't. Not even you can save us from something like this."

"Then, what do you want to do? Go back to the Ark? My mother will never agree to let you back in. She can't. Most likely, the Ark has already turned against you."

"I know—"

"Bellamy, you can never go back. If the Ark doesn't kill you the Grounders will."

"And we can't stay here or your people will kill us off."

Clarke looked thoughtful, "There are ways of making peace with my people. We'll start working on a treaty tomorrow."

"A treaty?"

"Between the Ice Nation and the 100. We can call it the first treaty to peace and throw it around and it will be like a victory. Then we can throw a party, invite people from all over, all the leaders and important people to come see you all. You all can give gifts to the Ice Nation. And you…you. Bellamy, you could give a speech to the people, call for a cease fire from the other Arkers, call for peace, and say you'll help us in any way possible."

"And you think that will keep us safe? I've seen the way your guards look at you. They will still see us as a threat after all of that."

"How do you know that?"

"Because it's the same thing I would do with I were them."

Clarke stood there for a minute just staring at him, then became thoughtful, "There's one way…No. Never mind. I won't make you do that."

"What?" Bellamy asked.

"Nothing."

"Clarke, if it will help us then it's worth at least considering."

She stared at him evenly, a look of resolution on her face, "I have. We're not doing it. Just…trust me."

Bellamy nodded, "I trust you."

"For someone who doesn't know how to have a good time, Clarke sure knows how to throw a party," Raven said, coming up to him, "Nico told me this was half of the upper class right here and leaders and representatives from all over the Ice Nation."

"Raven? How much about this place do you know?" Bellamy asked.

"A lot. I stayed here for a while and Clarke made sure I could fit in without looking like an idiot. She said to become a good leader I had to find things that were important in other cultures so I look respectable in every culture."

And she did look respectable in her golden dress and her hair braided back with golden material laced into it. She looked gorgeous. Bellamy had forgotten what everyone looked like when they were clean and well fed. He had forgotten that Harper was porcelean white and Monty could actually tame his hair and Octavia's smile grew ten times brighter when she was clean. Bellamy loved it. He loved seeing them happy.

"Clarke's done it again," Bellamy said.

"I know. I wonder when she'll run out of things to give us. She's already given us so much." Raven watched Octavia dance with Lincoln, "Pretty soon, she's going to be empty if she keeps giving us parts of herself."

"That's why we have to give some back."

"I'm listening."

"Clarke mentioned something to me. A way to get the guards and officials to get them to trust us, but then she closed off and said she would never do that to me."

Some of the Ice Nation couples had started to teach Lincoln and Octavia one of their dances.

"Well…" Raven thought, "Do that to you? As in you singular?"

"Yes. Just me."

"Marriage." Raven said quickly.

Bellamy was surprised, "Marriage?"

"It's seen as the ultimate sign of trust to the Ice Nation. Two souls forever intertwined. Never to be broken. That's why Clarke wouldn't let you do it. She didn't want to tie you down with someone you didn't know."

"A marriage between me and some other Ice Nation person?"

"Yes. Most likely to someone close to Clarke. The higher up on the social ladder they are, the farther their reach."

"And the more trust we gain." Bellamy nodded, "Who's the closest single woman to Clarke?"

Raven's eyes widened, "Bellamy, no. She said she wouldn't do it for a reason. She wouldn't want you to do that. Once you're married it can't be undone here. There are no divorces unless the relationship is abusive. You'd be stuck with her for forever."

"I have to," Bellamy said and scanned the crowd. He found a woman in an expensive looking dress and decided to start there.

Just as he started to walk off, Raven grabbed his arm forcefully, "I am not going to let you do this."

"If I don't, do you think that they are going to accept us here."

Raven was so close, her eyes full of flames, "Clarke will figure it out, she always does, and by the looks of it, the Ice Nation has already started to trust us."

Bellamy struggled against her hold, freeing his arm, but Raven just caught him again. When he turned around to look at her he could have sworn for a second that her eyes were blue, not brown, "The first step to having them trust us is to trust them, to trust their ruler. Clarke will take care of us."

Bellamy's eyes filled with defeat, "She shouldn't have to. After all she did for us."

"I know," Raven said remorsefully, "She had us on her shoulders for so long and right when she got it off, I made her put it back on. It isn't fair for her to have to handle two groups of people at once."

Bellamy searched her, "After winter, we'll leave. Build our own home. Promise peace with her people."

He looked at Clarke, sitting on her throne, smiling at a young boy, who was excitedly telling her a story, as Raven said beside him, "Let's just hope she's not empty before then."


	20. Chapter 20

Ice Queen Ch. 20

"Bellamy," Clarke greeted as he came up to the throne.

He bowed deeply to her (he could tell she rather enjoyed that) and went up to her, "I was talking to Raven."

"What of?"

"The thing that you said would get the guards and officials to trust us. It's marriage, isn't it?"

Clarke frowned and looked at her lap, "Yes, it is," she glanced back at him, "But, I don't expect you to do it."

"Would it make it easier for you?"

"Yes, but that's not the point—"

"I'll do it."

"Bell—"

"Who did you have in mind?"

Clarke studied him for a while, looking like she wanted to bury her head in her hands, but couldn't in front of her guests, "Um…Me."

Bellamy stopped and looked at her. She nodded at him, "That's why I said no."

"No, uh…I'll think about it."

"Bellamy…I don't expect you to…"

"If that's what you need, I'll at least consider it. If you're willing…"

"Originally, I'm supposed to, but… Manna didn't marry so they can't expect me to."

"What about Lexa?"

"Lexa?"

"Octavia told me you two had something going."

Clarke looked away for a minute, then back at him, "We did, but…well, after everything she's done to me, to us, to my country…I can't ever be with her again. If I did…I would never be able to live with myself for being in that kind of abusive relationship. I can't let her hurt me in the name of her people."

Bellamy looked thoughtful, "I can understand that, but would you be able to love me like you love her?"

It felt weird talking to Clarke about this, asking her these things, but even weirder when he realized that he cared about her answer.

Clarke didn't let on if she thought it was odd or not. She, instead, looked thoughtful and…majestic and beautiful and Clarkeish, "I think so. You have something Lexa doesn't have: my trust. There's something to be said in that."

"You would trust me to help you rule the Ice Nation?"

"Well, you wouldn't really have to. I mean, you would have to be at parties and give speeches, public appearances like that, but you wouldn't actually have to rule. I'd do all of that. You could spend your time helping to lead the 100, which is where you really should be. They need you."

"They need us both."

Clarke smiled sadly, "It's funny. The one thing they need is the only thing I can't give them."

"Big Brother, have you done something stupid?"

Bellamy turned around to see Octavia in her light blue dress, looking…happy, slightly worried (for him), but happy. "No. Not yet anyway."

"Oh, good because Raven just told me that you might try to marry someone you don't know."

"Not someone I don't know."

"See, I told—wait, what? So, you're getting married to someone you do know?"

"Octavia, let's talk about this when we're not surrounded by a thousand people," Bellamy snapped.

His little sister stood there for a minute before grabbing his arm, "Fine then," and proceeded to pull him towards the door. Once they were out of the throne room and away from the guards, Octavia let go, "Spill."

"Clarke said that a marriage between myself and a high official will help solidify our place here as well as our safety. So…it would be…profitable if I were to do this, marry someone, but not a stranger."

"Who then?"

"Clarke."

Octavia was stunned, "Clarke wants to marry you?"

"She wants to protect us."

"You would be stuck with each other for forever, no going back."

"We know that. That's why it's only a consideration. We're not going to rush into anything without thinking about it first. I mean, marriage in itself is big…"

"Bellamy…" Octavia said, "You have to think about this logically. It makes no sense to—"

"Clarke has sacrificed everything for us! Everything! The least we can do is make sure that we make her life a little easier for her, just a little better."

"And you think the marriage is going to do that?" Octavia raised her eyebrows at him, "You really think that."

"I think that I want to settle our people close to her and we can't be within a hundred mile radius of her if her people don't trust us. If we did this, we could settle our people on the borders of town and have a five minute walk to the palace everyday, with access to her whenever we wanted. We could help our people and hers. We could be safe with her and be useful to her if I just married her. So, yes, I am thinking about it and seriously considering it."

Octavia shook her head at him, "We don't have to be near Clarke to survive."

"You all don't, but I do."

Octavia closed her eyes for a second, "Okay." She looked up at him, "I trust you. You do what you think is right and the rest of us will support you."


	21. Chapter 21

Ice Queen CH 21

"I'm not going to marry you." Bellamy said.

Clarke looked surprised by his sudden outburst, "Um. Congrats? Thanks?"

"But, I want to make things easier for you. You already have a nation on your shoulders, you don't need another."

"Bellamy, it's not a—"

"It is a big deal. To me. You've done way too much for us already and I can't stand—"

She grabbed his face so that he was forced to look her in the eyes, "Bellamy. You are my friends. The Ice Nation might be my country, but you are my people, my friends, my family. God, I can't count how many times those kids have called me their mom. Don't feel bad about me doing things for you. There's nothing in the world that makes me happier."

Bellamy was frozen speechless and he thought back to the bossy firl that had told him not to open the door on the first day on the ground and looked at the grown, broken woman in front of him, "If it makes you happy then…I'm not going to stop you, but helping you makes us happy, so let us do that too."

She looked at him for a second and he thought she was seeing the same thing he had seen just a second ago. Then, she smiled at him. A real smile. A big one that took over her face. A carefree one that he had only seen on Unity Day (in a way, wasn't this kind of a Unity Day?), "Okay."

"So, Queen, what do you need for us to do?"

The two walked down the hallway together, discussing what both groups needed, and Bellamy couldn't help but notice they had fallen into the same pattern that they always had (maybe that was a marriage of a different kind [he couldn't help but like it].

"That's it?" Raven asked, sarcastically.

"They want to know how to make their own. They have an abundance of metal, all they need you to do is teach them how to make them."

"A gun has a lot of mechanics to it, Bellamy."

"…That's why I called the mechanic."

"Fine, Wick and I will put our heads together and try to figure it out."

"Thanks. Clarke said it was no rush. She's pretty sure she can survive the war without the weapons, but, for future wars, they want them. It's going to show the Ice Nation that we can help them a lot more than hurt them."

"Got it."

"Clarke said that if you stress yourself out she's going to nail you to a bed until you give birth, by the way, so, keep that in mind."

Raven walked away, waving her hand over her shoulder in a dismissive motion.

"For Clarke? Sure, I'll start setting up the greenhouse now. I'll take a couple of us and check out the grounds for it, we'll have the list of materials needed tomorrow."

"Thanks, Monty."

"Miller?" Bellamy asked.

The boy smiled at him, "What's my job?"

"Next week, we're going to give over our guns over to the generals of the Ice Nation army as a sign of good faith. Clarke would like them to know how to use them before they actually get them."

"Copy that."

"Already on it," Octavia said when Bellamy gave her the job he wanted her to do.

"Thanks, we want to put as little pressure on Clarke as possible when it comes to building our place. Clarke said there's a part of town not far from here that has been abandoned, but it will take some fixing up."

"I'll charm the rich into giving us their pants."

"Harper, the nurses in the city are swamped with war casualties."

"On my way now!"

"So, can you do it Monroe?"

"I'll have it within a week."

"Jasper." Bellamy greeted as the boy came up to him.

"What's my assignment, chief?"

"To not avoid Clarke."

Jasper frowned, "But—"

"If Clarke and I hadn't pulled the lever, you would be dead. So would the rest of your friends. Show some respect for her. You lost someone close to you, but we all have. Do I have to remind you that Charlotte killed Wells, but Clarke still wanted to protect her? Do the same. Grow up and let her love you like she does the rest of us. God knows you both deserve it."

"…Okay."

"The palace has been abuzz with activity today." Clarke said at dinner.

Bellamy looked down at his plate, "Really? I haven't noticed."

"Yes, it's kind of like _everything_ my country needs is taking care of itself. Well, more like the 100 are doing it. When I told you all of that stuff, I didn't think you would do all of it."

Bellamy smiled, "Did it take less pressure off of you?"

"Yes. I actually got to take a nap today. It was great. Weird, but great."

"Good."

Clarke smiled at him, "I don't know how to thank you."

"The feeling Is mutual, Queen."

(Yes. This _was_ a marriage. And it was a good one.)


	22. Chapter 22

Ice Queen Ch. 22

"We can't keep this war going through the winter. Our troops will freeze to death." Nico said, studying his Manna.

She looked tired and worn, her mouth hidden behind her folded hands. They needed out of this war, and fast, if not for their troops' sake then for their ruler's. She had enough to deal with right now and everything was resting on her now.

The Arkers had sent a team of guards to search for the 100 and their stolen guns. The team had tracked the teenagers to the edge of the Ice Nation, then had assumed they were being held prisoner. The guards had gotten into a fight with the villagers and now Clarke had, not only a war, but five dead bodies of guards that she had to deal with separately.

Nico knew she had not told any of the 100 ("If I did, they would want to fix it. Then, they would die and we would have another problem and more blood on our hands."), but her decision not to tell them seemed to kill her more than if she had ("Tell Raven if you can't tell Bellamy. Then you could get it off your chest and swear her to secrecy." "And stress out a pregnant woman?" "Octavia, then?" "Telling Octavia is the same as telling her brother.").

"Okay, then we need to finish the war before winter sits in." an advisor said.

"Or, we don't." Clarke said simply.

"Manna?" Nico said, asking for explanation.

"The mountain pass," Clarke said, "Our people have hiding places in there to take on an invader?"

"Yes."

"Caves high enough that you can't see them, and if you don't know about them, you wouldn't be able to find them?"

"Yes."

"We lead our army into them like we're retreating and let the Grounder army follow at a distance. IF we time it before a snow storm, our army can get into the caves and their tracks will be covered. The Grounder army will be stuck in the storm."

"They'll all freeze. They're not used to a Mountain winter."

"Yes. We'll get out of the war without another injury."

"And the Grounders will be without their army." Nico said.

Clarke nodded, "And their Commander."

"Clarke?" Jasper asked, coming up to her, "Can we talk?"

Clarke seemed preoccupied, but smiled a little, "Yes, walk with me. I have to give a message to be delivered to our generals."

Jasper walked beside her, careful not to step on her dress, "I-uh. I wanted to talk to you about…Maya."

Clarke's face flickered slightly, before she could stop her emotions from showing on her face.

"I…I just wanted to say that I get it. Why you did what you did. I get that you have to keep your people safe at all costs. After all, isn't that what you and Bellamy are always doing? Keeping us safe is like a second nature to you all. I guess you are both well versed in what it really means to protect someone."

Clarke slowed, not looking at him (God, she might cry if she did.) and held her breath.

"What I'm trying to say is that I forgive you. I'm sorry that I didn't see it before now, but—"

Clarke turned towards him, throwing her arms around his neck before he could say another word, "Thank you. You don't know how much that means to me. I know that losing Maya was hard, that it still is hard for you, but I appreciate that you won't hold it against me. I know that's not easy to do."

Jasper nodded and studied her, "Are you going to be okay?"

Clarke thought for a second, not wanting to lie to him, "I think so, actually. After this was is over…well, it'll be hard for me for a while, but…"

"How is the war going? Any news?"

"We think we know how to end it," Clarke said.

"Yeah? Can you tell me?" Jasper asked and Clarke looked at him for a second.

Nico had talked to her about telling some of the 100 about what was going on, just to get it off her chest, and, while she couldn't tell them about the dead guards and the conflict with the Ark that was sure to come, she could talk to Jasper about what she was about to do.

"Well…winter is going to hit hard soon, and we know that the Grounders are ill prepared for a mountain winter and their supplies are dwindling down. So, we're going to trap them in the mountains and let winter kill all of them."

"All?"

"Yes. Our troops would be sheltered and we can win the war with no furthers deaths on our side." Clarke didn't miss the irony about this situation. Jasper had just forgiven her decision to use the radiation in the air to kill a group of people and now she was telling him that she was going to use another force of nature to kill another group.

"But…Lexa is with them."

Clarke stopped, and looked at him, "And? What do you know about Lexa?"

"I fought with her. Before we knew who we were fighting, we fought with the Grounders and…"

"And?"

"Bellamy wanted us to understand why Lexa was the way she was and…by that time, Octavia had told Bellamy about you and Lexa and…he told us. Don't be mad at him!"

Clarke shook her head, "I'm not. It makes sense that he would want you to know about the person giving you orders.

"It's true. What Bellamy said. Lexa and I were…I don't know. Together? We kissed once, and then she abandoned us…I guess that's a pretty bad way to break up with someone, huh?"

"But, are you really okay with killing her?"

"I'm not okay with killing anyone, but if I have to, I will."

Jasper nodded, "Well, I'll leave you to do your work."

In the meantime, he had to find Bellamy.


	23. Chapter 23

AU NOTE: HELLO, IM BACK.

Ch 23

When Jasper ran up to Octavia and Bellamy, they automatically asked if anything was wrong. Call it what you will, but after the hundredth time someone runs up to a leader of the group, they start automatically thinking something is terribly, terribly wrong.

"What? What, Jasper?" Bellamy asked as Jasper put his hand on his shoulder to catch his breath.

"Clarke."

"Yes. What about her?"

"..."

"Jasper, is something wrong with Clarke? Did something happen?"

"Clarke is going to kill Lexa."

Bellamy and Octavia looked at each other and back at the boy in front of them, "Jasper..." Octavia started, but Jasper waved his hands.

"I know what you're going to say: killing the commander is the best way to end the war, but this is Lexa and Clarke. Clarke was devastated when she killed the Mountain Men. How do you think she's going to feel when she kills all those people AND Lexa?"

"Jasper, those people were innocents. The Grounders are trained warriors. They're not innocent," Bellamy said, "That's what tore Clarke up. It was the innocence lost there. The kids, the parents, the good people."

"Yes," Octavia said, thinking hard, "But there is something to be said about the fact that Clarke knows the Grounders. She knows they're not all bad. She's even formed relationships with them, and that could affect her more. Especially if she kills Lexa along with them."

Bellamy thought for a minute, "It makes sense to kill the Commander. Then the Grounders would be so crippled and disarrayed that they might fall back into the chaos that happened before the Alliance."

"So, the question is: Is it worth Clarke losing any more of her sanity over?" Octavia finished for him. Then, she quirked an eyebrow, "But, there might be another way."

Bellamy looked at his little sister, seeing a plan forming in her mind, "Do what you need to do."


	24. Chapter 24

Harper walked in front of Octavia and Lincoln, the gun pressed against her chest as she carefully picked her way across frozen forest floor.

"They'll be able to see our prints," Octavia said, shuffling closer to Lincoln.

"Not for long, the storm's coming soon."

"Which means we have to get there sooner."

"We're not that far."

They stayed quiet for a minute before Octavia asked the question that was on all of their minds, "What if it doesn't work? The plan, I mean. Lexa has so much security around her all the time. What if we get caught and killed, or just kept for ransom. I don't want Clarke to have to deal with that."

"We won't get caught."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I haven't seen you fail at anything you put your mind to. And you've had your mind set on protecting Clarke ever since she tried to help me in the drop ship."

Octavia looked up at him for a second, then back down, "Well, I haven't really been successful at it, have I?"

"Is Clarke dead?"

"...No."

"Then you succeeded."

"But, she's been through so much, and some of it is my fault."

"We all go through more than we should have to. But she's alive, able to make her own decisions, able to smile." Octavia thought of the laugh Bellamy had been able to draw out of Clarke late after dinner yesterday, the day before she decided to the woman she possibly loved.

"Maybe."

Suddenly, Harper stopped and put the gun to her shoulder, aiming at something up ahead, "There's something up ahead," she whispered back to them.

"A person?" Octavia asked.

"I don't know, but I saw it moving."

"Could be a deer," Lincoln said.

"Could be a Grounder scouting. You really want to take that risk?"

They stood there in the deadly calm of the forest, listening for something, anything that could be a sign of life.

Suddenly, a scream came out of nowhere and a weight dropped down on Octavia, knocking her to the ground. The person pinned her body to the ground and was about to bring a knife down into her chest when his weight disappeared as a body slammed into the attacker's.

Lincoln threw the Grounder into a tree, but the Hrounder got back up and ran towards them.

One muffled shot echoed through the forest, and he fell to the ground staining the white red.

"You all okay?" Harper asked, lowering the gun.

Octavia got up, shaking the snow off of herself, "Never better. Nice shot."

Harper had killed someone before, but Octavia knew that the girl had a hard time dealing with it. This had been the girl to help out in the drop ship when Clarke needed it. The one that had propped up twisted ankles, and stitched up sword cuts. Harper was made to heal and build, not destroy.

"You okay?" Octavia asked.

"For now." Harper said, knowing that the real regret would come at night. "Let's go."

"She's in the big tent, you see it? Right there?" Lincoln asked Harper, pointing to the biggest tent.

"Yeah, I see it."

"We just need a way in now."

"Which means we need a distraction," Octavia said, looking at the girl beside her.

"What do you need?"

"Just one shot."

Octavia and Lincoln sat in wait, freezing as they listened.

A loud gunshot echoed through the forest and everyone looked up in the opposite direction of the couple waiting on the edge of the forest.

Another shot and people started running towards the sound as the snow started drifting down.

As the crowd rushed toward the sound, Octavia and Lincoln hurried towards the big tent.

Inside, the many advisers for the Grounder army had now heard the noise over their own shouting.

"We need to follow them!"

"In a blizzard?"

"Yes, otherwise we will lose them forever."

"That's stupid!"

"So is not following them!"

Octavia and Lincoln snuck into the tent, towards the woman in braids, and as the room erupted into argument, clamped a drug covered hand over her mouth and let her breathe in the fumes before dragging her unconscious body out of the tent, still unnoticed by the large group of advisers arguing across the table.

Somehow, they had done it. They had saved the Heda.


End file.
